North East RadioWatch: October 29, 2001

The doors have been spinning in radio managers' offices all over
MASSACHUSETTS this week, at two of the biggest clusters in Boston.

We'll start at Clear Channel, where some old familiar faces are
back on the job in the Waltham studios of WJMN (94.5 Boston). Just a
few months after leaving the PD chair at "Jam'n" to take over the same
seat at crosstown WXKS-FM (107.9 Medford), a bout of management
consolidation has "Cadillac Jack" McCartney taking that job back.

McCartney will now handle programming for both "Jam'n," with its
urban-CHR sound, and "Kiss 108," Clear Channel's more mainstream entry
in the CHR battle - a far cry from the old days, when the two stations
(and WJMN predecessor WZOU) were bitter rivals. WJMN PD Dennis O'Heron
stays with Clear Channel, becoming marketing director of both
stations, while WXKS-FM music director Kid David adds the same duties
at WJMN, displacing Michelle Williams, who departs the station.

But wait - there are changes on-air as well at "Jam'n," beginning with
morning drive, where Baltazar is out of the morning show, replaced by
afternoon drive jock Ramiro Torrez. Morning co-host Pebbles stays.

And AllAccess reports that
both stations will go voicetracked during overnights beginning January
1, 2002, thus also displacing WXKS' Chris Shine.

Meanwhile across town at Infinity, WZLX (100.7 Boston) GM Jerry Charm
is out, with Tony Beradini adding those duties at the classic rocker
to his GM job at talk-alternative WBCN (104.1 Boston).

Religious satellator news: The "Living Proof" folks have managed to
get their application for a new 91.7 in Lunenburg reinstated, which
can't be good news for Boston's WUMB (though there's probably not much
they can do to prevent the incursion into their chain of signals on
91.9 in Boston and Worcester and Maynard's WAVM on 91.7); meanwhile,
down on Nantucket, a settlement finds "Broadcasting for the
Challenged" yielding to "Nantucket Public Radio" for the 89.5
frequency there. That new station will run 78 watts vertical, 500
watts horizontal at 36 meters AAT from a stick on Swain Hill, a mile
or so west of Nantucket village. (We're sure Nantucket fans of
Boston's WGBH will be none too thrilled about this one...)

While we're down that way, we note the passing of one of Boston sports
radio's most prolific callers. "Butch from the Cape," aka Thomas
Speers, died October 17 of cancer. The former bar owner became a
regular on WEEI when it went all-sports a decade ago, mocking the Red
Sox and other Hub teams. Speers had lived in Connecticut before moving
to the Cape, and was charged with harassment (though later acquitted)
for making anti-Semitic calls to a radio host in Waterbury; he also
served prison time for running gambling rings in the Nutmeg State.
Speers, who had been honored by WEEI when he disclosed his illness
last year (in an event called "Butchiepalooza"), was 58.

We'll go next to CONNECTICUT, where Fox wants its Hartford
affiliate to change DTV channels. It seems Tribune's WTIC-TV (Channel
61) was to operate on DTV channel 5, where Fox fears interference for
fringe viewers of its New York flagship, WNYW, which operates on
analog channel 5. Fox filed this week to move WTIC-DT to channel 31,
where it may cause a bit of fringe interference (that Fox is willing
to accept) to the network's own WFXT-DT (also on channel 31) in
Boston.

[NERW notes that WTIC would eventually have needed a new channel
assignment anyway, since neither channels 5 nor 61 are within the
"core spectrum" of channels 7-59 where all DTV is supposed to end up
eventually.]

Asnuntuck Community College was granted the Nutmeg State's first LPFM
license this week, to operate on 107.7 with 100 watts from Enfield.

A few bits of news from MAINE: J.J. Jeffrey wants to move his WRED
(95.9 Saco) a bit closer to Portland. He's filed to relocate the
station to a tower on Milliken Mills Road near Old Orchard Beach,
adjacent to WCYY (94.3 Biddeford), which he used to own. WRED would
boost power, from 3300 watts at 91 meters AAT to a new 4100 watt
signal at 121 meters AAT.

Up in the Bangor market, Daniel Priestly has calls for his three new
AM CPs. Mark 'em down: WNZT (1230 Hermon), WNZS (1340 Veazie) and WWNZ
(1400 Veazie). (NERW wonders...those wouldn't be news-formatted
stations, would they?)

Two call changes from VERMONT and NEW HAMPSHIRE: WCFR-FM (93.5
Springfield VT) changes calls to WXKK, to match country simulcast
"Kixx" partner WXXK (100.5 Lebanon NH), while the WCFR-FM calls pop up
across the Connecticut River at the former WLPL (96.3 Walpole NH),
which in turn simulcasts oldies WWOD (104.3 Hartford VT).

Just to add to the simulcast fun: WMXR (93.9 Woodstock), which had
been simulcasting country with the Springfield station, has dropped
out of that format in favor of a simulcast with classic rock WVRR
(101.7 Newport NH).

We also noticed this little tidbit in the FCC filings this week: cable
systems are generally barred from scrambling channels on their "basic"
service tier. But in the resort area of Waitsfield, Vermont,
Waitsfield Cable has won permission to scramble those channels,
arguing that much of its business comes from seasonal rentals of
vacation properties. By scrambling everything, Waitsfield Cable says
it can turn service on and off for daily and weekly renters without
needing to dispatch a service truck. (Just thought you might like to
know!)

NEW YORK's TV dial took another step back towards recovery this
week, when WABC-TV (Channel 7) flipped the switch on its new
full-power facility at the Empire State Building. ABC was fortunate at
Empire; its WPLJ (95.5) had its own antenna separate from the ERI
master antenna, allowing ABC to take that space on the mast for the
new WABC-TV facility. WPLJ is operating from its former auxiliary
antenna down the tower for now, we're told; we wonder if it will move
to the master eventually.

Out on Long Island, WXXP (105.3 Calverton-Roanoke) has applied to move
its antenna about five miles to the southwest, edging it closer to the
more populated parts of Suffolk County. The new site, which would run
1 kW at 150 meters AAT, is next to the WRCN (103.9 Riverhead) tower
off County Road 111.

Up in the Hudson Valley, Chuck Benfer gets a promotion within Aurora:
he moves from general sales manager at the group's
Poughkeepsie/Newburgh cluster to GM at WFAS/WFAF in Westchester
County. Robert Bongiardino, who'd been acting station manager at WFAS,
stays on as general sales manager there.

There's been plenty of action in the Albany market, as Pamal (now
doing business with the FCC as "6 Johnson Road License Corp.") and
Galaxy take their pieces of the former Tele-Media cluster. On the
Pamal side, the "Point" hot AC format of WCPT (100.9 Albany) ended
today (10/29), with the station stunting in a simulcast with Pamal CHR
WFLY (92.3 Troy) to draw listeners over. The rumor mill's flying about
what happens next with 100.9, and we're not sure we believe a word of
it yet...except that a new format might be in place as soon as Friday.

(WCPT's sister station, WKBE 100.3 Warrensburg, was still running with
the "Point" format at last check, but expect changes there as well...)

As for Galaxy, it ditched the soft AC on WKLI (94.5 Ravena) on Monday,
stunting with covers of "Stairway to Heaven" en route to a new format
soon. Future sister station WHTR (93.7 Scotia) is still on its old
facilities in the Glens Falls market on 93.5, with a move expected
there any day. Galaxy has promoted Syracuse/Utica OM/PD Mimi Griswold
to VP/programming for Albany, Syracuse and Utica, and we hear she'll
be the one implementing the new formats at WKLI/WHTR and WABY (1400
Albany).

Across town at Siena College, WVCR (88.3 Loudonville) dropped its
hip-hop programming last week in favor of a more typical college-radio
block programming sound. The move, as reported earlier in NERW, came
at the behest of Siena College leaders, who felt WVCR's old format
didn't reflect the college's values.

And the Albany Times-Union's Mark McGuire reports that
the Stewart's Stores chain of convenience stores has ended its long
relationship with Clear Channel talker WGY (810
Schenectady). Stewart's had been the sponsor of WGY's annual Christmas
Wish, last year raising $450,000 of the fund's $480,000
total. Stewart's officials told the paper they didn't care for the
tone of some of WGY's more outrageous talk hosts, and didn't want to
be associated with the station; WGY says it will find a new sponsor
for this year's fund drive.

Still more Hudson Valley news? You bet...we're hearing word of a power
struggle within the Sound of Life religious FM chain that stretches up
the valley from Port Jervis to Glens Falls. Sources tell NERW that
founder and board president Bruce Winchell is out, following a threat
of mass resignations by the network's staff. We're hearing that the
new board at Sound of Life may try to sell some of the chain's
outlying stations, including Scranton-area CP WPGP (88.3 Tafton PA).

In the North Country, Watertown's WLOT-LP (Channel 66) will move its
transmitter site and dial position when it takes on "Class A"
status. The LPTV was granted a change to channel 46 and a power boost
to 19 kW visual from a new site atop its studio building at 95 Public
Square in downtown Watertown.

Up in the tiny community of Paul Smiths, Paul Smith's College has
asked the FCC to reinstate its class D FM station. WPSA (98.3 Paul
Smiths) was deleted back on July 9, 1999 (and there was no sign of the
station when the intrepid NERW Expeditionary Force visited the campus
in the summer of 2000...)

Down in Binghamton, Clear Channel ditched the classic country on WINR
(680) to return to an adult standards/soft AC blend, with veteran
Binghamton voice Bill Flynn doing morning drive, ending the simulcast
with country WBBI (107.5 Endwell) in that daypart.

Family Life Ministries' WCOV (93.7 Clyde) was granted a change to
non-commercial operation.

Here in Rochester, Fox affiliate WUHF (Channel 31) said goodbye to its
founding news director Monday night, devoting much of its 10 PM
newscast to a farewell to Donna Dedee. The former WHEC-TV (Channel 10)
reporter/anchor announced over the summer that she'd be joining the
local United Way as its spokesperson after more than three years
building the WUHF news operation; Christine Persichette succeeds her
in the anchor chair as Steve Dawe takes over as news director.

And in Bath, Robert Pfuntner has applied to boost the power of his
WABH (1380). The station currently runs 2500 watts day, 119 watts at
night from its three-tower array alongside I-390 south of town, which
was built in 1997 to replace the old non-directional daytimer facility
at the WABH/WVIN studios. It's applying to increase to 5000 watts day,
450 watts night, using all three towers in both patterns (instead of
two by day and two by night).

The big news in PENNSYLVANIA this week came from Erie, where
Regent put its new format in place on 102.3, ex-WLKK. The new WQHZ
ended stunting last Tuesday (10/23...get it?) by relaunching as
"Z-102, Erie's Classic Hits." Adam Reese, formerly with sister WXTA
(97.9 Edinboro) is WQHZ's PD, with the syndicated Bob and Tom in
mornings.

Speaking of the Indiana-based morning team, they've also added
Citadel's "Z" stations in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to their
network. Those stations got new calls this week, as WXBE (97.9
Hazleton) became WAOZ and WXAR (95.7 Olyphant) became WEOZ.

Down in Philadelphia, WURD (900) has been back on the air all week,
running a mix of 50s-80s oldies to keep the meters moving while the
station looks for someone to either lease airtime or buy it.

Anchor Siani Lee of KYW-TV (Channel 3) was killed Sunday afternoon
when her car was broadsided in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Lee, who
had just turned 39, had been with KYW since 1999, and in Philadelphia
since 1993, when she moved to WCAU (Channel 10) from Washington,
D.C.'s "NewsChannel 8." Lee, who anchored KYW's 6 PM news with Larry
Kane, wasn't wearing a seat belt when her car was hit, we're told.

And we hear NEW JERSEY's WWFM public radio network has turned on
its fourth full-power transmitter. WWPJ (89.5 Pen Argyl PA) has been
testing briefly in June, and is now on again, simulcasting WWFM's
classical programming with 100 watts of power.

FLASH! Late word out of Nassau Broadcasting is that the oldies on WNJO
(94.5 Trenton) are about to be a thing of the past. We hear that the
station will flip to the "classic rock hits" that Nassau has been
running for the last two months or so over in Easton on WODE (99.9) as
"the Hawk." We hear the change will happen at 10 AM on Thursday
(Nov. 1), and we hear the calls won't change right away...

Just one note from CANADA to close out this week's report: The
CRTC has ordered Jan Pachul to cease and desist his operation of a
pirate LPTV station in Toronto's Beaches neighborhood. Pachul had
applied for a license for the channel 15 operation and was denied; as
of November 15, he'll risk legal action if he continues to broadcast.